Busted - May Be Not The Best Place

Any comments on this? My first thought was that sucks, an innocent naked hiker busted. However, after reading some of the details, may be this just was the best place to be spending time naked.

WATERVILLE A 67-year-old man was charged with a misdemeanor Thursday morning after police allegedly found him walking around naked on the Leeman trails in the citys South End.Ricky Thompson, of Waterville, was issued a summons on a charge of indecent conduct, a Class E crime, when police found him, unclothed, on the trail that runs along Water Street from the power plant to the boat landing, Deputy Chief Bill Bonney said.A woman had reported Thompson to the police after she said she saw him while walking on the trails with two 8-year-olds and one 4-year-old around 10:30 a.m. She described him to police as a naked elderly man with a walker, so police went to the scene assuming it was a medical issue, possibly involving dementia, Bonney said. Waterville fire and rescue was also dispatched, but later canceled.After a half-hour search, police found Thompson still completely naked, according to Bonney.He claimed that he was sunbathing, Bonney said.The police had received similar complaints about Thompson in the past, Bonney said, but were never able to substantiate them enough to charge him.Because the mother and children walking along the trail had allegedly seen Thompsons genitalia, Bonney said, police issued a summons against Thompson.He was also warned for criminal trespassing on the trails. Earlier this year, he received a similar warning for the nearby boat landing, barring him from going near either place.Thompson is set to appear in Waterville District Court on Oct. 3.Bonney said the police department is watching the area around the boat landing more closely and assigning a bike patrol to the trails.Weve had issues with the boat landing this year. Its really supposed to be a place where people can take their families, he said. Were not going to allow that to be ruined by people doing lewd things.

I' assume this is in Maine. The relavent part of the Maine statute, Title 17-A, Chap. 35, Sec. 854, Indecent conduct reads.

1. A person is guilty of indecent conduct if: A. In a public place: (1) The actor engages in a sexual act, as defined in section 251; or (2) The actor knowingly exposes the actor's genitals under circumstances that, in fact, are likely to cause affront or alarm;

If Mr. Thompson wasn't doing anything lewd, or causing affront or alarm, then any reasonably proficient lawyer ought to be able to get the case dismissed, but our legal system is often not very predictable when the case involves nudity. It will be interesting to see what happens.

If you Google Ricky Thompson, Waterville youll find lots of links to the story of Mr. Thompson getting a citation back in August for being nude in public, but none that reveal what the disposition of this case was. Why is there so much attention focused on a story involving nudity if so much of society claims to be offended by it? The news media probably wouldnt have paid much attention if Mr. Thompson had been cited for littering.